Author: Janaina Gama, Co-head of the W20 Brazilian Delegation

The motto of the G20 under Brazil’s presidency in 2024 is “building a fair and sustainable world.” And how can we talk about sustainability and justice without integrating gender equity, which is unaddressed in any country[1]? We emphasize the importance of the W20, an engagement group created in 2014 in Australia. It began its work the following year in Turkey, moving through China, Germany, Argentina, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Italy, Indonesia, and India.

In W20[2] Brazil, we are women from academia, entrepreneurship, and civil society, volunteering our efforts. To bring even more diversity to our group, we have invited experts to work with delegates from other G20 countries to develop recommendations for public policies supporting women’s economic empowerment (both locally and globally).

Our working groups will prioritize five themes: entrepreneurship, women in STEM, the care economy, gender-based violence, and climate justice, taking an intersectional analytical approach. This approach is crucial for understanding Brazilian gender inequality. The data reveals that black and indigenous women are the most affected by inequality and various forms of violence, for example:

• Black women dedicate more time to care activities (18.6 hours on average), followed by white women (17.1 hours). Source: IBGE, 2022
• Between 2000 and 2020, there was a 167% increase in the number of femicides of indigenous women. Source: Igarapé Institute, 2023
• Black women occupy only 11% of positions in the technology industry. Source: PretaLab, 2022
• Black women represent 17% of entrepreneurs in the country and earn less than all other groups. Source: SEBRAE, 2019
• In addition to the trail of destruction observed in images of dry rivers, illegal gold mining in the Yanomami, Kayapó, and Munduruku indigenous lands has caused contamination of breast milk in breastfeeding women, pregnancy interruptions, and diseases.

For us, the W20 Brazil, in a country that self-declares as predominantly black (56%, IBGE 2022), this intersectionality must guide discussions to positively impact the majority of the Brazilian population. As the successive presidencies of the G20 will be held by South Africa in 2025 and the United States in 2026, the perspective is that ethnic-racial issues will continue to be a priority on this agenda.

W20 works too with a council of Brazilian women leaders to provide guidance and advocacy for our agendas. We also have the support of companies and institutions for sponsorships and knowledge curation. We will share the names of these individuals and organizations soon!

At the end of this process, catalyzed by the working groups, a commission will analyze the contributions and create a consensus summary for each axis in a final document, the Communiqué. It will be delivered to President Lula so that our recommendations for gender equity can be included in the final G20 declaration. Our mission is to influence the creation of public policies that ensure a fair and sustainable world in which no woman is left behind.

[1] Despite countries like Iceland, Finland, Norway, and Sweden being examples of places with comprehensive gender equality policies, there are challenges to overcome: pursuing gender equality is an ongoing process

[2] Women 20

Communiqué. It will be delivered to President Lula so that our recommendations for gender equity can be included in the final G20 declaration. Our mission is to influence the creation of public policies that ensure a fair and sustainable world in which no woman is left behind.